Hawaii Students Selected for Lunar
Flight Experiment (Source: Hawaii 24/7)
When state legislators provided funding for the Pacific International
Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES), a Hilo-based state
government aerospace agency under the Department of Business, Economic
Development and Tourism (DBEDT), they hoped the education arm of the
entity would encourage Hawaii’s students to shoot for the moon.

Little did they expect that goal to be taken literally. But a
partnership between PISCES and NASA will task students from Honolulu’s
Iolani School and the Big Island’s Kealakehe High School to design and
operate an experiment on the surface on the moon by the end of 2016.
The experiment involves electrodynamic dust shield technology and the
selected Hawaii students will be mentored by NASA’s Kennedy Space
Center. (2/25)

Congress Wants to Send a Person to
Mars — but Doesn't Want to Pay the Bill (Source: Vox)
Congress has given NASA a mandate to put a human on Mars. It hasn't,
however, given the space agency enough money to do it. Outside experts
have been pointing out this absurdity for some time. On Wednesday,
Congress heard it directly from NASA's Inspector General Paul Martin,
the person charged with overseeing the space agency.

The problem is simple: NASA is currently developing a space capsule
(called Orion) and rocket system (called SLS) that could theoretically
take astronauts to Mars, as ordered by Congress. But as Martin
explained in his testimony before the House, lawmakers haven't given
NASA enough money to develop the technology needed to use these systems
for a Mars mission. Click here.
(2/25)

Vandenberg: Blasting Off Into the
Future (Source: Lompoc Record)
For many Central Coast residents, Vandenberg Air Force Base is sort of
a hidden gem. We know it’s there, but its presence somehow flies below
most of our radars. Every so often, however, VAFB bursts back onto our
radar screen, usually when a giant rocket is lifting off from the
base’s launch complex. And we must admit, there are few sights more
thrilling than watching one of those rocket-propelled behemoths roar
into the heavens. Click here.
(2/25)

Russia Plans to Put Man on Moon by 2030
(Source: Daily Mail)
Roscosmos, Russia's space agency, said it would launch the manned
missions after reviving its lunar program with unmanned spacecraft. The
news comes three years after a leaked document from the federal agency
suggested a manned mission to the moon was in the pipeline. (2/25)

NASA Administrator Visits Peru
(Source: Peru This Week)
The Administrator of NASA, Charles Bolden, will arrive in Lima on
Friday to speak on the pending Solar System and Mars Exploration
mission, according to the Embassy of the United States in Peru. Bolden
will express his support in Peru’s development of scientific research
and technological development. As well, he arrives to explain the plans
of the ambitious Solar System and Mars Exploration project during a
colloquium.

While visiting Peru, Bolden is scheduled to meet with various
authorities from academic institutions involving science such as the
National Council for Science, Technology and Innovation Research
(CONCYTEC) and the National Commission for Aerospace Research and
Development (CONIDA).

Last year Peru launched its first satellite “Chaski 1” and thus
solidified its presence in the world as a participant in space
exploration. The National University of Engineering sent the satellite
into orbit with temperature reading and photograph-taking capabilities
to send information back to earth. (2/25)

China Gets to Build Argentina
Satellite Tracking Station for Moon Missions (Source: SCMP)
Argentina’s Congress has approved the installation of a Chinese
satellite tracking station in the South American country’s Patagonia
region. The measure passed in the lower house with 133 votes in favor
and 107 against. Opposition lawmakers questioned the possible military
use of the base and a tax exemption that will benefit the station for
50 years. (2/25)

NASA Spending Panel Chairman Keeps
Focus on China (Source: Space News)
The new chairman of the House subcommittee that funds NASA served
notice Feb. 25 that he shares his very vocal predecessor’s concerns
about Chinese efforts to siphon sensitive technical information from
the civil space agency.

Amid a back-and-forth with NASA Inspector General Paul Martin about
China, restrictions on foreign visitors at NASA’s field centers and
cybersecurity, Rep. John Culberson (R-TX), chairman of the House
Appropriations commerce, justice, science subcommittee, produced a
virtual echo of the retired Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), who held the gavel
last year. Culberson, who in the hearing called Wolf “a hero of mine,”
pledged to continue the ban on bilateral cooperation between NASA and
China that Wolf tacked on to every federal spending bill passed since
2011.

“The Chinese space program is owned lock, stock and barrel by the
People’s Liberation Army,” Culberson said. “It’s really important that
we keep the Red Chinese out of our space program.” (2/26)

Would You Take a Balloon to the Edge
of Space? (Source: CSM)
The idea of extending the tourist industry into space is not new, but
it has picked up steam in the last few years. It is no longer seen as
an impossibility that, someday, a human could go to space without
needing a science degree or tens of millions of dollars.

There remains, however, the matter of hurtling oneself out of the
stratosphere in a rocket at thousands of miles per hour, which is not
for everyone. For those seeking a gentler ascent, an Arizona-based
company called World View is developing an alternative form of travel,
namely, lofting passengers more than 100,000 feet up in a huge balloon.
Click here.
(2/26)

The Payerne, Switzerland-based company is seeking investors to build
the port in Udbina in southern Croatia, by 2017, Bosanac said in an
interview in Zagreb on Feb. 23. It’s awaiting a license from the local
authorities, he said. This would be the second such project in Europe
for S3, which plans to offer zero-gravity flights from its Swiss base
later this year. (2/26)

India Signs Agreement in Space
Technology for Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (Source: Business
Standard)
Government of India and its national space body, the Indian Space
Research Organization (ISRO) of Department of Space (DOS) has signed
agreement with other developing/developed countries and their space
bodies for peaceful uses of outer space including Research and
Development (R&D) in space science, technology and applications.

NASA Hopes to Continue Cooperation on
ISS Until 2024 (Source: Sputnik)
NASA is ready to continue to cooperate with its International Space
Station (ISS) partners, including Russia, for at least nine more years,
the space agency has said in a statement. "The Obama administration is
committed to extending operation of the International Space Station to
at least 2024," NASA said in the statement, adding that it welcomes
"continued cooperation" from its ISS partners in support of this
extension and looks forward to working with them on the ISS "until at
least 2024". (2/26)

Leaks Show South Africa Spied on
Itself for Details of Joint Satellite Project (Source: Sputnik)
South Africa’s intelligence agency relied on a spy who had access to
Russian military intelligence to uncover details of its own
government’s involvement in a $100 million joint satellite surveillance
program with Russia.

The satellite system, called Project Condor, was launched into orbit
last December by the Russians and provides surveillance coverage of all
of Africa. The project has been shrouded in secrecy, with Russia
originally refusing to reveal who its client was. To find out more
about the venture, South African intelligence turned to an agent “with
direct access to the Russian government,” according to an August 2012
top-secret report, obtained by the Guardian. (2/26)

Laughing Gas and Rubber: A Recipe for
Suborbital Flight? (Source: The Register)
This summer, the skies above Nevada will thunder to the sound of a
mighty hybrid rocket motor, as the Boston University Rocket Propulsion
Group (BURPG) sends its Starscraper vehicle past the symbolic 100km
Kármán line. Having recently tin-rattled its way to a healthy $17k down
at Kickstarter, BURPG is poised to hit the heavens burning rubber and
laughing gas.

The group describes hybrid motors as "relatively underdeveloped" rocket
tech. We spoke to BURPG's Jeremy Pedro – a sophomore engineering
student – who explained the group's choice. He said: "Solid motors
experience high forces and vibrations, but are fairly simple to
fabricate. Liquid engines are complex and very expensive. Hybrid motors
combine the two and give a best-of-both-worlds scenario. (2/26)

New SpaceX Launch Contracts Will Be
First for Texas Spaceport (Source: SpaceFlight Now)
Two communications satellites owned by SES are booked to fly into orbit
from South Texas on a pair of Falcon 9 rockets in 2017, giving SpaceX
its first two confirmed payloads assigned to launch from the new
commercial spaceport, officials said Wednesday.

Industry officials familiar with the launch deal said both satellites
are planned to lift off from SpaceX’s new launch site at Boca Chica
Beach near Brownsville, Texas. It was not clear whether another
commercial SpaceX launch could occur from the Texas spaceport before
the SES 14 and SES 16/GovSat missions are ready for liftoff in 2017.
(2/25)

Astronomers Find Impossibly Large
Black Hole (Source: ANU)
An international team of astronomers has found a huge and ancient black
hole which was powering the brightest object early in the universe. The
black hole’s mass is 12 billion times that of the Sun, and was at the
center of a quasar that pumped out a million billion times the energy
of our Sun.

“Forming such a large black hole so quickly is hard to interpret with
current theories,” Fuyan Bian said. A quasar is an extremely bright
cloud of material in the process of being sucked into a black hole. As
the material accelerates towards the black hole it heats up, emitting
an extraordinary amount of light which actually pushes away material
falling behind it. (2/25)

DigitalGlobe's Satellite Pics Are So
Good They're Almost Illegal (Source: NBC)
For the first time, DigitalGlobe is showing off satellite images that
are so high-resolution they used to be illegal. Previously, the U.S.
government banned companies from offering commercial satellite views
with a pixel resolution better than 50 centimeters (20 inches). Sharper
images could be sold only to the government.

Last year, the Commerce Department gave the company the go-ahead to
market images with 30-centimeter (12-inch) resolution — but not until
this month. Now the ban has been lifted, and on Wednesday, DigitalGlobe
announced the full availability of 30-centimeter pictures. (2/25)

Air Force Secretary Casts Doubt on
RD-180 Replacement Schedule (Source: Space News)
Three months after the U.S. Congress ordered the Air Force to wean
itself from a Russian-built rocket engine routinely used to launch
national security satellites, a top service official told lawmakers
that the 2019 deadline set in the legislation is probably not feasible.

In December, Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act for
2015 that contained a measure mandating that the Defense Department
replace the Russian RD-180 engine with an American-made alternative by
2019. The RD-180 is the main engine on United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5
rocket, one of two vehicles the company uses to launch most U.S.
government satellites and virtually all national security missions.

Air Force officials have since raised doubts about the 2019 timeline.
Almost immediately after the bill’s passage, Gen. John Hyten, commander
of Air Force Space Command, described the schedule as “aggressive” and
“challenging.” Editor's
Note: With both SpaceX and ULA developing their own engines
commercially, why should taxpayers develop yet another one? What rocket
would use it? (2/25)

Have Americans Given Up on Going to
Space? (Source: Mashable)
It has plenty of close contenders, but I can't think of a more
depressing statistic from the last week than one contained within a
survey on public perceptions of space travel, conducted by Monmouth
University. On the one hand, the poll was good news for space nuts: 56%
of respondents think that the space program thus far has brought us
"lasting benefits," and that number is pretty much the same across
Democrat, Republican and Independent lines.

At least, in a time of utter political polarization, we can agree that
our past escapades in space were a good thing. A very slim 51% majority
want to increase NASA funding. But that drops to 42% in favor when the
public were asked if they want to send astronauts to the Moon, Mars or
asteroids — suggesting we're fine with sending probes, but less cool
about sending people.

But here's the truly depressing statistic: Only 28% of us say we would
care to go to space personally, even if the trip was entirely paid for.
Some 3% said it depends, a mere 1% didn't know, leaving a full 69% who
have not the slightest desire to slip the surly bonds of Earth's
gravity. Apparently we'd rather not trespass on "the high untrespassed
sanctity of space" or touch the face of God, thanks. (2/25)

Going to Space Doesn't Mean What It
Used To (Source: SPACErePORT)
That survey that found people don't want to go to space? I can
understand it. Space exploration isn't what it used to be. In the 1960s
and 1970s, there was an expectation that humans would go to Mars soon,
that missions to Europa were just around the corner, just like in the
movies. Those dreams turned stale after decades of Space Shuttle
missions turned "exploration" into astronauts circling in low Earth
orbit while the media wondered what music was being played to wake them
up every morning.

Today, "exploration" is being pitched to many as suborbital rides for
wealthy tourists, with the potential for disaster for every mission.
There's talk of returning to the moon and maybe going to Mars, but
there is no consensus, no national imperative, no clear vision. I can
understand why many people think human spaceflight is uninteresting,
pointless, or not worth the risk. (2/25)

Ceres’ Bright Spot has a Dimmer
Companion (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
NASA's Dawn spacecraft is set to insert itself into orbit around the
dwarf planet Ceres on March 6, 2015. The enigmatic body has puzzled
astronomers since its discovery in 1801. The probe's latest images,
taken from a mere 29,000 miles (46,000 kilometers) from Ceres, reveal
that the bright spot first detected in previous images, may not be
alone. Astronomers do not yet know what these bright spots are. (2/25)

Ceres' Mystery Bright Dots May Have
Volcanic Origin (Source: Discovery)
As NASA’s Dawn mission slowly spirals in on its dwarf planet target,
Ceres’ alien landscape is becoming sharper by the day. And, at a
distance of only 29,000 miles (46,000 kilometers), the robotic
spacecraft has revealed multiple bright patches on the surface, but one
of the brightest spots has revealed a dimmer bright patch right next
door.

“This may be pointing to a volcano-like origin of the spots, but we
will have to wait for better resolution before we can make such
geologic interpretations.” Regions of higher than average albedo
(reflectiveness) have been long known to exist on Ceres, but the low
resolution of the observations have prevented planetary scientists from
interpreting what they could be. But with the slow arrival of Dawn,
these bright spots turn out to be discrete locations that might
indicate surface ice features — possibly evidence for cryo-volcanism.
(2/25)

Rocket Lab Founder Wins New Zealand
Honor (Source: NZ Newswire)
Rocket Lab's Peter Beck has been named New Zealand's Innovator of the
Year at a ceremony led by Deputy Prime Minister Bill English in
Auckland on Wednesday night. (2/25)

There Will Be Beer On Mars
(Source: Playboy)
The Mars crew hadn’t had water, power or fuel for 24 hours.
Communication was down, space suits needed to be repaired and life
support systems were not functioning. But the beer? The beer was just
fine. Earlier this month a team of scientists and space enthusiasts
locked themselves into the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), a
simulated Red Planet base in Hanksville, Utah.

The base is one of four in the world run by the Mars Society, a
nonprofit that wants humans to settle on Mars. Thirteen crews of
volunteers will rotate through the bases from November 2014 through May
2015, helping advance the science still needed for colonization.

At the remote base in Utah, the seven surrogate astronauts were testing
vital space research, such as emergency response procedures,
extraplanetary terraforming and ballistic-launched aerial imaging. And,
of course, how to brew beer on other planets. (2/25)

Don't Panic, But the Sun Will (Far)
Outlive Earth (Source: Space.com)
In a few billion years, the sun will become a red giant so large that
it will engulf our planet. But the Earth will become uninhabitable much
sooner than that. After about a billion years the sun will become hot
enough to boil our oceans.

The sun is currently classified as a “main sequence” star. This means
that it is in the most stable part of its life, converting the hydrogen
present in its core into helium. For a star the size of ours, this
phase lasts a little over 8 billion years. Our solar system is just
over 4.5 billion years old, so the sun is slightly more than halfway
through its stable lifetime.

It is widely understood that the Earth as a planet will not survive the
sun’s expansion into a full-blown red giant star. The surface of the
sun will probably reach the current orbit of Mars – and, while the
Earth’s orbit may also have expanded outwards slightly, it won’t be
enough to save it from being dragged into the surface of the sun,
whereupon our planet will rapidly disintegrate. (2/25)

Russia To Quit ISS In 2024, Take
Modules to Build Space Base In LEO (Source: Aviation Week)
Moscow says it will extend participation in the International Space
Station (ISS) to 2024, after which it plans to disengage three modules
from the Russian segment of the orbiting outpost and use them to
develop a national space station in low Earth orbit.

The plan, according to Roscosmos, is to develop a “Russian space base
on the basis of separated ISS modules.” The new space station would be
configured to incorporate Russia's multipurpose laboratory module,
nodal module and scientific power module, leading to “a promising
Russian space station that meets the challenges of providing secure
access to space.” (2/25)

NASA Offers Space Tech Grants to Early
Career University Faculty (Source: NASA)
NASA is seeking proposals from accredited U.S. universities on behalf
of outstanding early-career faculty members who are beginning
independent research careers. The grants will sponsor research in
specific high-priority areas. Aligned with NASA's Space Technology
Roadmaps and priorities identified by the National Research Council,
the agency has identified topic areas that lend themselves to the early
stage innovative approaches U.S. universities can offer for solving
tough space technology challenges. (2/25)

Case of the Missing 'Failed Star' Has
Scientists Stumped (Source: Space.com)
A new alien planet-hunting tool has found no trace of a brown dwarf
more than 100 light-years from Earth, despite evidence that the misfit
failed star is eclipsing its partner, a team of puzzled astronomers
says. European Southern Observatory's (ESO) new SPHERE
(Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet Research) on the Very
Large Telescope didn't find a sign of a brown dwarf near the double
star V471 Tauri, despite the fact that scientists were pretty sure they
would find one. (2/25)

Water Pools in US Astronaut's Helmet
After Spacewalk (Source: Space Daily)
An American astronaut found water pooling inside his helmet after he
finished a six-plus hour spacewalk on Wednesday, raising new concerns
about the safety of NASA's spacesuits. Terry Virts was not harmed
during the incident, which the US space agency described as "minor"
compared to the near-drowning of an Italian astronaut when a similar
problem occurred in 2013. (2/25)